Carrier



CARRIER Filed aul ls, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEYS.

This invention relates to a carrier, and more specifically, to a mobile support for trash cans, garbage receptacles, supply drums and othe similar containers adapted to be opened from the top.

In the home as well as in industry, a need frequently arises for devices which are capable of holding and carrying containers and which are provided with some easily operated closure means for tightly sealing such containers. For example, such a carrying device would be of value in supporting and moving a trash or garbage can from its usual concealed position into a conspicuous position at those times designated for refuse collection. However, while various carts and other refuse container supporting devices have been devised, such structures have been generally unsatisfactory for the intended purpose. For one thing, the carts known in the past have been relatively cumbersome and have been difiicult to manipulate. Considerable difiiculty would ordinarily be encountered in opening a container supported by such a'carrier where the user, who may be holding the refuse in both hands, cannot adequately grip and lift the containers cover. Also, there is always the danger that the can may tip from the carrier or cart as it is moved, or that dogs or other animals may upset the container and thereby spill its contents.

Accordingly, it is a main object of the present invention to provide a movable holder for open-topped containers which overcomes the afore-mentioned defects and disadvantages of prior structures. More specifically, it is an object to provide a receptacle carrier which may be read ily moved about without fear that the receptacle will be come released or will topple therefrom. Another object is to provide a receptacle cart which is of relatively simple construction and which may be easily moved about and operated to open or seal a receptacle carried thereby.

A further object is to provide a device for supporting containers and maintaining the same in sealed condition, such device being easily manipulated, without use of the hands, to unseal the container and expose the open top thereof. Another object is to provide a carrier for removably supporting a container such as a garbage or trash can. In this connection, it is a specific object to provide a carrier equipped with closure means which does not require precise positioning of the container upon the carrier for effective closing and sealing of that container. A still further object is to provide a container supporting device having a cover adapted to engage the open top of such container, the supporting device also being equipped with means for clamping the container in place while simultaneously sealing the open top thereof.

Other objects will appear from the specification and drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of a carrier embodying the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a side elevational view similar to FIG- URE l but showing the cover of the carrier in raised position;

FIGURE 3 is a side elevational view showing the opposite side of the carrier with the cover thereof in lowered position;

FIGURE 4 is a side elevational view similar to FIG- URE 3 but showing the cover in raised position;

FIGURE 5 is a top plan view of the carrier;

FIGURE 6 is a perspective view illustrating details of the carriers operating mechanism.

3,4l,3 0 Patented June 2%, 1962 In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings, the numeral 10 generally designates a carrier or cart for an open-topped receptacle or container 11. The carrier includes a pair of spaced side frames 12 and 13 connected by rear and bottom horizontal connecting bars 14 and 15. Each side frame may be of tubular construction and, as shown in the drawing, may be provided with an upstanding front tubular member 16, an upstanding rear tubular member 17, and an integrally formed base member consisting of a horizontal portion 18 and an upwardly and rearwardly inclined portion 19. A horizontal axle 20 spans the inclined portions of the two base members and carries a pair of wheels 21 between those frames. As shown most clearly in FIGURES 1 through 4, the bottom edges of wheels 21 are disposed along the same horizontal plane as the bottom surfaces of base members 18 and, therefore, when the unit is at rest, its weight is distributed between the wheels and those portions of the frame which rest flatly on the ground.

Rear members 17 extend upwardly above the ends of front members 16, and then curve rearwardly to provide handles 22. If desired, resilient handle grips 23 may be fitted thereon.

Each side frame is provided with a side plate 24 connected to the upstanding front and rear members 16 and 17. Preferably, these side plates are adjustably mounted so that they may be shifted vertically to suit the particular size of the receptacle 11 supported upon the cart. In the illustration given, this is accomplished by means of U-bolts 25 which may be tightened to clamp the side plates to the frame members 16 and 17. It will be observed that the parallel side plates are disposed along the inner surfaces of the front members 16. As a result, the parallel plates provide smooth inner surfaces for guiding the placement of a receptacle upon the cart while, at the same time, permitting a closer spacing of the rear members 17 than the front members 16 and avoiding any lateral projections near the rear of the cart which might interfere with its movement along narrow corridors or passages.

Referring to FIGURE 6, it will be noted that there are a plurality of normally horizontal support members 26 extending along the lower portion of the carrier between the front and rear ends thereof. These support members are secured at their front ends to a horizontal cross bar 27 attached to frame members 16 and at their rear ends to the horizontal stationary axle 20. A plurality of upstanding coil springs 28 are afiixed to the support members 26 and a horizontal platform 29 is carried by these springs.

A cover or closure member 30 is pivotally connected to the cart adjacent the upper end thereof. A transverse pivot shaft 31 is secured to the upper surface of the cover and has its end portions projecting laterally through slots 32 in side plates 24. It will be observed that slots or openings 32 are slightly elongated in a vertical direction (FIG- URE 6), for reasons which will appear shortly.

At the ends of pivot rod 31 and disposed along the outer surfaces of the side plates are a pair of depending lever arms 33. Springs 34, connected to the free ends of these arms and to the side plates themselves, tend to urge the arms forwardly and thereby rotate the pivot shaft to swing cover 30 upwardly into a raised position, as illustrated in FIGURES 2 and 4.

Across the top of the cover and secured thereto is a tubular latching member 35. It will be noted that the latching member projects laterally beyond the side edges of the cover and also beyond side plates 24. The side plates are recessed at 36 to receive the end portions of the transversely extending latching member. Thus, when the cover is in its lowered horizontal position, the latching member projects laterally through recesses 36 and rearwardly into the latching positions illustrated in the drawings. As shown most clearly in FIGURES 1 through 4, the upper ends of the hooks are tapered and are provided with rearwardly facing inclined surfaces for slidably engaging the end portions of latching member when the cover is closed. Thus, as the cover is lowered, the latching member 35 urges the hooks 38 forwardly until the end portions of the latching member seat within the rearwardly facing recesses or notches 4-1 of the hooks.

The structure for raising and lowering the latching arms 37 is most clearly illustrated in FIGURE 6. There it will be seen that the arms are pivotally connected at their lower ends to the front ends of levers 42. The rear ends of those levers are fixed to a transverse pivot shaft which is rotatably mounted beneath support members 26 by means of brackets 44. Consequently, the two levers cannot move independently of each other.

A central third lever is secured to pivot shaft 43 and carries at its end the hook portion of a rod 46 extending rearwardly through the opening of a fixed bracket 47. A spring 48 extending about the rod 46 tends to urge the rod axially in a forward direction and therefore biases lever 45, shaft 43 and levers 42 into the neutral positions illustrated in FIGURES 2, 4 and 6.

A pair of foot pedals 49 and 50 are pivotally carried by cross shaft 27 at the lower front end of the cart and may be manipulated to unlatch the cover 30 or to force the cover downwardly against a container supported upon platform 29. The unlatching pedal 50 is connected by means of link 51 to a fourth lever 52 afiixed to pivot shaft 43. As the pedal is depressed, link 51 is urged upwardly and levers 52 and 42 are pivoted forwardly about the axis of shaft 43. Continued rotation of the pivot shaft results in a lifting of the latching arms 37 into the solid line positions shown in FIGURES 2 and 4. It will be observed that links 39 have slotted free ends with the pins 53 of the hooks riding in those slots. Since pins 53 can slide between opposite ends of the slots, the unlatching arms 37 and hooks 38 are capable of being moved a limited distance vertically without any appreciable forward and rearward movement of hooks 38. However, when the pins have reached the inner limits of the slots, as shown in FIGURE '2, then further downward movement of pedal 59 will result not only in additional lifting of the unlatching arms but also in forward displacement of the hook portions 38 of those arms. This forward displacement of the unlatching arms when depression of the unlatching pedal 50 is continued beyond the neutral position is represented by broken lines in FIGURE 2.

Compression pedal 49, like pedal 50, is pivotally carried by shaft 27 and is connected by link 54 to the free end of the other lever 42. When pedal 49 is depressed, link 54 is urged rearwardly to pivot the depending levers 42 rearwardly from the positions shown in FIGURES 4 and 6 into the position illustrated in FIGURE 3. It will be noted that as the compression pedal is depressed, the point of pivotal connection between link 54, lever 42 and arm 37 not only drops downwardly a short but definite distance, but also passes rearwardly behind the rotational axis of pivot shaft 43. Arrow 55 in FIGURE 4 represents the distance the arms 37 are lowered upon depression of pedal 49. Since links 39 are slotted, the upper hook ends of arms 37 may move vertically between the positions shown in FIGURES 3 and 4 without any appreciable forward or rearward displacement.

Where the cart shown in the drawings is to be adaptable for holding and carrying containers of different vertical dimensions, unlatching arms 37 may be made in two telescoping sections 37a and 37b, the larger of the sections being equipped with a set screw 56 or any other suitable means for locking the sections against axial movement after the length of each arm has been properly adjusted.

If desired, the mechanism adjacent side plates 24 may be concealed by side plate covers 57 (FIGURE 5). Also, reinforcing side bars 58 may be secured to the front and rear members of each side frame for further rigidifying the entire cart structure.

Normally, the cart will appear as shown in FIGURES l and 3 with its cover in lowered or closed position and with the compression pedal 49 depressed and the unlatching pedal 50 raised. Container 11 is firmly clamped between platform 29 and the smooth undersurface of cover The positions of side plates 24 and the height of container 11 are such that springs 28 are in a state of compression. These springs urge platform 29 upwardly and force the open top of the container into tight sealing contact with the smooth undersurface of the cover.

To expose the container for the disposal (or removal) of material, a user simply depresses the unlatching pedal 5@ into the broken line position illustrated in FIGURE 2. As the lever arms 42 pivot forwardly, the compression of springs 28 is relieved and the latching arms 37 move upwardly and then forwardly to release the latching member 35 from hook recesses 41 and side plate notches 36. Springs 34 pivot the released cover into the raised position shown in FIGURES 2 and 4. It will be observed that as unlatching pedal 50 is depressed, the compression pedal 49 is automatically raised because of the common pivot bar and linkage interconnection of the parts. When the operator removes his foot from the fully depressed unlatching pedal, spring 48 urges shaft 46 and central lever 45 forwardly to shift the pedal 50 into the neutral position shown in solid lines in FIGURE 2. At the same time, springs 40 urge the hooks 38 rearwardly so that the latching member 35 will be caught by the hooks when the cover is again lowered.

To re-apply the pressure seal to container 11, a user simply urges cover 30 downwardly until the lateral extensions of the latching member 35 are caught by hooks '38. The compression pedal 49 is then depressed to urge the latching arms downwardly and to shift their lowermost ends rearwardly behind the rotational axis of pivot shaft 43. As the compression pedal is depressed, the unlatching pedal is automatically elevated and the parts return to the positions shown in FIGURES l and 3.

When removal of the container 11 from the cart is desired, the cover is opened and the container is simply slid forwardly through the open front end of the cart. It will be noted that upon replacement of the container, precise positioning of that container upon platform 2.9 is not necessary. As long as the container rests firmly upon the platform, cover 30 will be effective in sealing the open upper end of that container because f the large smooth undersurface of that cover. As brought out above, slots 32 in the side plates 24 are vertically elongated. This vertical elongation permits limited vertical movement of the cover at its pivot end so that the cover will bear against the rim of the opentopped container with uniform force as that cover is lowered into its pressure-sealing position.

From the foregoing, it is believed apparent that the cart of the present invention is particularly suitable for use as a carrier for garbage cans, trash cans, or any other open-topped container which should be tightly sealed and which must be moved at least occasionally. The narrow track wheels 21, mounted between the side frames 12 and I3, permit the cart to be rolled along narrow walks and along any corridor wide enough to accommodate all other portions of the cart. Furthermore, the positioning of the wheels with their rotational axis disposed well ahead of the rear frame members 17 permits the cart to be tipped rearwardly with a minimum of effort.

While in the foregoing I have disclosed an embodiment of the invention in considerable detail for purposes of illustration, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that many of these details may be varied without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. A carrier for open-topped containers comprising a pair of spaced-apart side frames connected adjacent their lower ends by at least one transverse member, a platform adjacent the lower end of said carrier for supporting an open-topped container thereon, compression springs extending between said transverse member and said platform and supporting said platform for limited vertical movement between said frames, a cover hingedly carried by said frames adjacent the upper ends thereof and movable between raised and lowered positions for opening and closing said container, and pedal-actuated means provided by said frames and engageable with said cover for forcing said cover downwardly and thereby urging downwardly a container supported upon the spring-loaded platform to clamp said container tightly in place, said pedal-actuated means including at least one upstanding latching arm movable between raised and lowered positions, said latching arm being provided with hook means adjacent the upper end thereof for latching on to said cover when the cover is in lowered position.

2. The structure of claim 1 in which said cover is mounted for limited vertical movement at the points of hinge connection thereof, whereby, said cover, when in lowered position, may be urged downwardly a limited distance by said latching arm without further pivotal movement of said cover about its points of hinge connection.

3. A carrier for open-topped containers comprising a pair of spaced-apart side frames connected adjacent their lower ends by at least one transverse member, a platform adjacent the lower end of said carrier for supporting an opemtopped container thereon, compression springs extending between said transverse member and said platform and supporting said platform for limited vertical movement between said frames, a cover hingedly carried by said frames adjacent the upper ends thereof and movable between raised and lowered positions for opening and .closing said container, and pedal-actuated means provided by said frames and engageable with said cover for forcing said cover downwardly and thereby urging downwardly a container supported upon the spring-loaded platform to clamp said container tightly in place, said carrier being provided with a pair of wheels, said wheels being connected to and spaced closer together than said side frames.

4. A carrier for open-topped containers comprising a pair of spaced-apart side frames connected adjacent their lower ends by at least one transverse member, a platform adjacent the lower end of said carrier for supporting an open-topped container, compression spring means disposed between said platform and said transverse memher, a cover hingedly carried by said frames adjacent the upper ends thereof and movable between raised and lowered positions, means biasing said cover into raised position, and latching means carried by said frames and engageable with said cover for forcing the same downwardly to clamp said container between said platform and said cover. 7

5. The structure of claim 4 in which said latching means includes at least one latching arm equipped with a hook adjacent the upper end thereof, said latching arm being movable vertically to urge said cover downwardly when the same is hooked thereby, and at least one foot pedal operatively associated with said arm for moving the same between raised and lowered positions.

6. A carrier for open-topped containers comprising a pair of side frames extending along spaced vertical planes, a pair of wheels connected to said side frames adjacent the lower ends thereof, a spring-loaded platform carried by said side frames adjacent their lower ends, a cover hingedly mounted upon said side frames adjacent their upper ends, said cover being movable between raised and lowered positions and being biased into raised positions, at least one latching arm carried by said side frames and engageable with said cover when the same is in lowered position for maintaining said cover in said lowered position, a foot pedal operatively associated with said latching arm for moving the same away from said cover to release said cover for movement into raised position when said pedal is depressed, and a second pedal operatively associated with said arm for moving the same vertically to a limited extent for urging a latched cover downwardly and thereby firmly clamp a container between said cover and the spring-loaded platform.

7. The structure of claim 6 in which said pedals are operatively interconnected so that said second-mentioned pedal is automatically raised when said unlatching pedal is depressed.

8. The structure of claim 6 in which said wheels are disposed between said side frames adjacent the lower rear portions thereof.

9. The structure of claim 6- in which said cover is provided with a flat undersurface of substantially greater area than the opening of said container.

10. In a carrier for open-topped containers, a base, a platform for supporting an open-topped container thereon, a hinged cover provided by said carrier for closing .the open top of a container supported upon said plat form, said cover being movable between raised and lowered positions, spring means urging said cover into raised position, at least one latching arm provided by said carrier and engageable with said cover when the same is in lowered position for maintaining the cover in lowered position, a foot pedal operatively associated with said latching arm for urging the arm downwardly a limited distance when said cover is in lowered and latched position, and second spring means interposed between said base and said cover for spring loading the cover and thereby securely clamping said container in closed condition when said pedal is depressed.

I]. The structure of claim 10 in which said secondmentioned spring means is disposed between said base and said platform to provide a depressible spring-supported platform for holding an open-topped container thereon.

12. The structure of claim 10 in which a second pedal is provided by said carrier, said second pedal being operatively associated with said latching arm for moving the same away from said cover to release said cover for movement into raised position under the influence of the first-mentioned spring means when said second pedal is depressed.

13. The structure of claim 12 in which said pedals are operatively interconnected so that said first-mentioned pedal is automatically raised when said second pedal is depressed.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,026,485 Barr May 14, 1912 2,513,630 Elliott July 4, 1950 2,667,320 Whitley Jan. 26, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS 124,119 Australia Apr. 21, 1947 

